Letters to the editor

The Senate must vote on the PUMP Act immediately

To the editor:

Everyday, Alaska’s mothers return to work after giving birth only to find that workplace policies block them from providing nutrition to their infants. Alaskans lack basic legal protections for lactation breaks, as do one in four working women of childbearing age nationwide. The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act (S. 1658/H.R. 3110), championed by our own Senator Murkowski, would remedy this.

The PUMP Act would ensure that millions of families currently left out of the nation’s workplace lactation law finally get the support they need to continue breastfeeding. The bill passed the House of Representatives with overwhelming bipartisan support, but has been waiting for a Senate vote for over a year. Millions of working parents are struggling to feed their babies.

Here at the Alaska Breastfeeding Coalition, we see the impact of this delay firsthand. The risk of not breastfeeding includes increased rates of serious illnesses for both mother and baby. Far too many families can’t continue breastfeeding after returning to work as a direct result of discriminatory policies in the workplace. A basic human right to receive essential nutrition is being denied to thousands of infants every day. Combined with the infant formula shortage, families across Alaska are in crisis.

The Senate must vote on the PUMP Act immediately so that families aren’t forced to choose between a paycheck and the nutrition and immune support their baby needs.

Jasmine Esmay, BSN, RNC-OB, CLC, IBCLC

President, Alaska Breastfeeding Coalition

A very important electionTo the editor:

We are now within two weeks of the very important midterm elections. Please vote on or before Tuesday, November 8th. Early voting has already started; check the official website for locations: https://www.elections.alaska.gov/ Also, because of redistricting, many polling places have changed, check the website for your current location. If you are mailing your ballot it must be postmarked by November 8th and apparently it will take two postage stamps.

We are fortunate to have some terrific candidates on the ballot, including: Mary Peltola for US House; Les Gara for Governor and Jessica Cook, Lt. Governor; Matt Claman for State Senate (District H); and Jennie Armstrong for State House (District 16). They are progressive leaders who care deeply about democracy. They are pro-choice, pro-equality, pro-education, and pro-privacy. Also, vote like your fundamental right to privacy is at stake because it is — please vote no on the Constitutional Convention, ballot measure 1.

Ann Sugrue,

Anchorage

Holding an Alaskan Constitutional Convention

To the editor:

Here are perspectives about voting for a constitutional convention, voting for its delegates, and consequently voting to approve or disapprove what the convention proposes.

Each voter should have the honesty to read the current constitution and compare it to personal observations of how well it’s been working. It is comic book sized, and is the most clearly written constitution of any American state.

Each voter should work out why Founding Alaskans determined it was important enough to constitutionally compel a state-wide vote for or against having a constitutional convention every 10 years. This was in addition to providing a constitutional amendment process. Were they grandstanding, or simply showing true and outstanding respect for the political Power of the People?

Citizens working out supreme law---a constitution---under which they will live and be governed by, is the ultimate duty of citizenship. Constitutions---and Rule of Law---are the historically proven weapons against the natural corruption and abuses of Rule of Men.

Let the US Declaration of Independence amplify this point: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness---That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form as to them seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

The assertion that people nowadays are not mentally capable or too irrational to consider the task of modifying the Alaskan Constitution is a regurgitation of the centuries –old foundation for aristocracy and slavery. In other words, some are saying people need to be ruled by “their betters”---not led towards a cooperative posterity of responsible freedom for all. To have gradually manipulated interpretations of our Constitution for selfish ends or to reinstitute Rule of Men, are self-evident reasons to conduct constitutional housecleaning by the People.

As proven by every constitutional convention in US history, the pressure to serve posterity has moved delegates to rise to the occasion---to rise above petty prejudices and party politics. They were helped by obligatory study of government and constitutional references. A new constitutional convention should undertake a study of all references absorbed by the original convention, the Alaska Constitutional Convention minutes, and the Federalist and Anti-federalist papers published during the US constitution ratification. It wouldn’t hurt for ordinary citizens to get into such references---especially the Alaska Constitutional Convention minutes.

Stuart Thompson,

Wasilla